been best friends since we were kids, the kind of friendship that felt more like brotherhood. I had a gift on the passenger seat, a nice bottle of aged whiskey that I knew hi

after tripping on a cobblestone street. She said she couldn't fly home early as we had planned, the doctor had

armth and laughter. Cars were already lining the grass, the party was in full swing. I grabbed the gif

nd a hug. The living room was packed with relatives and friends, all smiling, all celebratin

ter of the room,

I had never seen before. In her hands, she held a delicate teacup, which she was offering to Mark' s

way in London, nursing a sprained ankle, was here, i

ey bottle suddenly feeling heavy and cold

rk' s aunts clapped her hands together, h

-in-law! Mark, you found a real treasure. Your

med in, their voice

s so gr

tely bea

st easy now, seeing his

talking about? Sarah was my wife. I was the one who stood with her at the altar. I was the

m. The polite, serene smile on her face vanished, replaced by a flicker of pure panic. She quickly finish

ong, and pulled me towards a quiet hallway, a

g here?" she hissed, her

gerously low. "I could ask you the same question. Las

ack towards the living room. "It' s not what it looks like. Mark' s father

ed sadness, the kind she used when

to see Mark settled, to see his family complete. Four generations un

ping how? By pretending to be his daughter-in-law? By lying

, a casual, easy smile on his face as if nothing in the world wa

rly normal, utterly infuriating. He looked from my stony face to Sarah' s p

ping to a conspiratorial whisper, a grot

a few days. Just until my dad... you know. You' ll lend me your

to 'borrow' my wife, as if she were a power tool or a lawnmower. The sheer, unmitigated aud

had ever felt before, cut through the

s smiling face to Sa

l? I guess his dying wish doesn' t include seeing his grandkids, then

h' s eyes widened in horror. The casual charad